[avs23252119]

No luck using search. I just started going back through some of the movies that I burned

 

[FAKEFACTORY]

Same here. I startet using DVD-RAM as media. Much more robust.

 

[MichaelZ]

I've got Riteks starting with G01 (about 3 years are more years ago) to G05. All seem the same as when they were burned. The only disk I've had a problem with is a Princo (I think) and it errored like a scratched up disk, it showed something on the disk but was not readable. I've done a few of my friend's and relatives weddings and all of them were put on DVD's and all of them are still playing fine. I've also have data, I do all my long term backups and archives on DVDs and I've seen none of them have a problem either. I verify all my burns just to make sure the copy is good.

What dvd burner did you us on these?

 

[avs23252119]

Pioneer 106 burner is what I have used on all, just like the G04's. Just kind of pissed you know. All my good movies are going to hell. Have always used Nero 6 to burn and have always verified ok. Wondering if it isn't something due to new installations the past couple of nights. Installed Anydvd last night and new zoomplayer, ffdshow, dscaler etc. but those shouldn't have any impact, anydvd however might since it deals with drive. ??

 

[CCarncross]

Were you perhaps burning them at higher than officially rated burn speeds?


Have you tried any of the ones that show up as blank on your pc in a standalone player?

 

[avs23252119]

No I think I've always burned at 4x. And yeah, now I'm wishing I still had the dvd player for the tv that I gave away, doh. So yeah, I have no idea, think I'm screwed.

 

[NizZ8]

Ick.. I haven't noticed any that are empty, but i have some read problems on some of the disc's over time, even w/o heavy use!.

 

[john12345]

Maybe you could try another DVD drive? I once had a file that was unreadable on one drive but could be salvaged on another drive. Never had an empty DVD though.


The thing I do for valuable DVDs (besides making a second copy stored elsewhere) is to verify the files on another drive. That's a habit from using tape drives but those can go out of spec -- don't know if DVD drives can go out of spec.

 

[trbarry]

Quote:

The only disk I've had a problem with is a Princo (I think) and it errored like a scratched up disk, it showed something on the disk but was not readable.

There were some versions of the Princo discs I've seen referred to as "vampire discs" since they could be destroyed by sunlight.


- Tom

 

[MichaelZ]

I agree, try another PC-DVD player/recorder and see if they are readable. I checked some of my oldest DVDs I recorded last night and all of them were fine - data as well as video. All my old dvds were burned on an pioneer A03 at 1x

Wow, I remember that DVD recorder cost over $1000 and blanks were $8 a piece then, in bulk

 

[MichaelZ]

Quote:

Originally posted by trbarry There were some versions of the Princo discs I've seen referred to as "vampire discs" since they could be destroyed by sunlight. - Tom

LOL!


I still got a couple of them and the dye looks clear now

 

[avs23252119]

OK I've got one final question, I'm pretty much reserved to the fact that I lost alot of dvdr's. How? I have no idea, but the data is gone and as disappointing as it is, I'll try and move on lol. My question is for future reference on dvd's I plan to burn. What steps can I take to ensure a good burn. Some of the movies that are now lost I have played fairly recently, so I know at one time they were obvioulsy good, albeit with errors. ? Am I thinking correctly on this. That it is possible to burn a dvdr watch with no problems, but not notice the errors that the disc contains, errors that will eventually shorten the lifespan of the dvdr?? I use Nero and verify burn, but is there another step I can take to give me piece of mind so that I don't have to check these every couple of months. Other than just buying them again, that would be too easy.

 

[hdkhang]

Buying them again isn't always that easy Some titles go out of print, Mulan was out of print for a long while and people were paying up to $80 USD on ebay for them, now it's coming back at a very low price in a special 2 disc version.


Riteks are known to be flaky when it comes to quality, you can get some excellent discs and some real stinkers... nero's verify write procedure isn't the best option here (sure it is the easiest) but it doesn't verify the media will read back on another drive. I always do read tests on the media in my dvd-rom drive right after burning... programs you could use are CDCheck or you could simply copy the disc back to your hard drive to confirm


Cheers...

Duy-Khang Hoang

 

[CCarncross]

Quote:

Originally posted by hdkhang Buying them again isn't always that easy Some titles go out of print, Mulan was out of print for a long while and people were paying up to $80 USD on ebay for them, now it's coming back at a very low price in a special 2 disc version.

It sounds like these were all backup copies of movies, so I dont see how buying them again is even an issue. Just get the original back out and make another copy. I'm not trying to minimzie the situation, I feel bad for you, but the only thing lost is time and some blanks in the end.

 

[Sergei Esenin]

There's no such thing as cheap blank DVDs or CDs. You either buy the cheapest with the understanding that they *will* get corrupted in 1-3 years and cost you extra time or loss, or you pay 1.5-3 times as much for quality media from a superior manufacturer like Taiyo Yuden with the understanding that they'll last longer.


But seriously, why buy crappy writable DVDs anyway, when you can get bigger, more reliable hard drives for just about 2x the price per GB? Yes, hard drives crash on occasion--but they don't routinely just go corrupt after a year. I have hard drives still working perfectly from 8 years ago. I don't have any writeable CDs that old, though my Taiyo Yudens from about 4 years ago are in good shape. Except for DVD-RAM (which was designed for professional, not just consumer, use), writable DVDs are even less proven to be reliable long-term.


Bottom line, unless you buy blank DVDs from top-quality manufacturing plants, expect them to die within several years. Brands don't usually list their manufacturing sources, and often source from several; but the very best always have the "Made in Japan" mark. Anything made anywhere else can be top-quality, or poor quality.

 

[LeonidasVouros]

avs23252119


I few months ago I realized that half of my DVD-rs were unreadable DUE TO LABEL PLACEMENT.....

So I hope that no labels were placed here on these the Dvd-rs......

 

[avs23252119]

I've used labels to note all my dvdr's. Now do you mean internal label, such as when nero prompts you to name dvd? Or like a sticker on hte outside? I've just labeled when prompted by nero. If this is what you're talking about I'd like to hear more. But even if this is so, still doesn't make sense, why would some work and others don't. Like just the other night I burned Fubar, pretty good movie, watched it on the burned dvd, loaned it out to a buddy, and after he returns it I try to watch and it says blank!

 

[avs23252119]

One other question- is it possible for a dvd drive to take a dump, but not completely? I mean is it possible my problem is that just some discs are giving the drive a hard time because it going out. I've only had it about a year, but I've burned quite a few discs- maybe 300. Seems to me it should last longer than that. I know the easy way to find out would be just to try another dvd player- just don't have one. And the dvd's I've loaned out, albeit not very many, have always played fine for my friends. Anyways just a thought.

 

[Gary McCoy]

Yes a DVD optical drive will eventually wear out. I wore out a DVD-ROM after approximately 760 movies had been played. The optical positioner was the problem, and the symptom was increasing stutters in DVD playback. The drive remained error-free when reading CDs. Replacing the drive resolved the issue. I believe the DVD mechanical positioning requirements are extremely precise compared to CDs, due to the much finer track widths on DVDs.


Gary

 

[avs23252119]

Just in case someone else has had or may have in the future- the problem was a dirty lens in the drive. Finally found quite a few instances of this, mostly with the pioneer drives, on some other forums and the solution was to just wipe it with lens cleaner and a q-tip or the much easier way, just buy one of those dvd cleaners from walmart or hastings. I chose the harder method tonight just because I wanted to see if it was just the drive and not all my dvdr's. THank God it was.